Promises
by KamlynWolfe
Summary: Post The Amazing-Spider man. Gwen has to figure out her purpose in a life with Peter. Is she just 'Spider-man's girl friend' or can she be more than that?
1. Caught In The Web

First time on here, so naturally I have no idea how to do anything. This will be interesting.

I don't own The Amazing Spider-man or any of the characters in this fanfiction.

School was noisy as usual, full of loud teenagers going to class, and clanging the doors of their lockers shut, the scuffing of shoes on the cheap floor. One boy, however, was hanging back from the crowds, as he often did, and casting glances towards my back. Gwen knew it was Peter; he had been glancing at her from a distance ever since her father died. She wished he would just say something. She hadn't really talked to him since she went to his house after the funeral, and he had confirmed her suspicions that her dad made him promise to stay away from her. She couldn't believe he'd do that. The one guy in her life who made her feel special, or wanted, and her dad, in his last moments, had told him to keep away.

She missed her dad, don't get me wrong, she would still have moments when she wish he were there, or wonder what he would say to her at certain moments, but Peter is the one person who could understand. She needed him now more than ever, and though Gwen was angry with both him and her dad for treating her like a kid, not allowing her to make her own choices, she still wished Peter would walk up to her right now and wrap his arms around her, like he did that night he came to dinner with her family. She could remember that moment as clear as day, and it was that memory that kept her sane.

She closed her locker and went to class; she didn't look at Peter, who was still just watching her leave. She felt strange pretending he wasn't there, when he clearly wanted her to notice him. She didn't look back at all till she took her seat in English and fixed her eyes forward. The teacher began talking about the meanings behind literature, though I wasn't really listening.

Peter walked in then, looking sort of guilty. Gwen tried not to think about where he had just been.

"Mr. Parker, tardy again," said the teacher, annoyed that her lesson had been disrupted.

"Sorry, it won't happen again, I promise," said Peter, taking the seat behind Gwen.

"Don't make promises you can't keep," said the teacher. Then Peter leaned forward over his desk and whispered to Gwen.

"But those are the best kind," Gwen smiled.

Later that day, Gwen waited for Peter outside the school gates, and smiled when she saw him jog up to her, grinning. She tried to not look as pleased as she felt, though she had to smile when she caught his eye.

"Hey," he said, smiling a little less.

"Hi," said Gwen. There was a silence for a while, and then Peter scratched the back of his head and glanced around the emptying school grounds. "So, does this mean…" started Gwen, not really sure how to put her words together.

"Yes, well, I mean… if you want. Not that I'm saying… well, I just…" Peter stumbled over his words. Gwen tried to help him out.

"Just what?" she said. Their eyes connected then, and Peter looked almost serious.

"I'm sorry, for staying away from you… I wasn't there when you needed me, and… I want to make it up to you,"

"Peter, my father made you promise to stay away from me, you were just respecting his… last wishes," that last part was hard for her to say, Peter stepped a little closer to her, wanting to hold her again, but he was hesitant.

"How do you intend to make it up to me?" she said, brightening the mood.

"Well, I could start by walking you home?" he half said half asked.

"I think that'd be a good place to start," she said, smiling again.

"So, um…this way?" said Peter, motioning towards the general direction of Gwen's home.

"Yeah," they both started walking, in silence for a while, each teen lost in their own thoughts, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling.

"Would you… like to come for dinner, sometime?" said Peter gingerly. Gwen looked up at him.

"Uh sure, yeah, with you and Aunt May?" she said.

"Yeah, just us," Peter smiled at her boyishly. "Just don't let her feed you meat loaf," Gwen laughed a little.

"Really, that bad?" she said. Peter nodded with a chuckle, then the grin slowly slid from him face and he bowed his head, eyes suddenly lost in thought. "…Peter?" said Gwen softly. Peter shook his head, and looked back up at her after a pause. The grin returned.

"Hmm?" he raised his eyebrows.

"You alright?" said Gwen.

"Yeah, no I just um… yeah," Peter managed. They crossed another street, sub consciously twining their fingers together, Peter leading Gwen safely to the other side of the road. There was another long pause, Gwen looked up at Peter, thinking about that night he had come into her room through her bedroom window, bloody and bruised and tired. She wondered if that was what she was in for every night, but then, what did she expect? She was dating Spider-man, probably the most dangerous choice for a boyfriend any girl could make. She was certainly in way over her head, but in all honestly, she had never felt so alive.

"Are you going out tonight?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah, but I'll call in on my way home, that is, if you want me to. I don't have to… I just thought –"

"Please," Gwen found herself blurting out. Peter stopped for a moment and looked at her, clutching her books closely to her body, her eyes wide.

"Sure, I'll call in," he said, smiling reassuringly. Gwen felt relieved, she didn't want to be the girlfriend who was constantly worrying all the time, but the way things were going she felt she might not be able to help it.

"Is that a promise?" she said.

"If you want it to be," he said teasingly. She thwacked her booked against his arm playfully, Peter laughed, Gwen suppressed laughter.

"I'm serious," she smiled, walking on down the street. Peter straightened and followed suit.

"Of course, yeah, but I already have one woman waiting up for me every night, seriously I don't want another to lose sleep over me," he sounded like he'd had this conversation one too many times.

"You really don't have a choice in the matter," said Gwen, amused by the change in Peter's tone. "You should know that if you want to run around in a skin tight red and blue suit there are those who actually realise that sooner or later the laws of physics will catch up with you," Peter sighed. They stopped outside a tall building that was where Gwen lived. Peter felt a little uneasy as the door man watched him and Gwen. He was a big, well-built man, he looked six foot five at least, and he never showed any emotion on his face, and Peter was pretty sure that – despite having superpowers – this man could lift him up and snap him like a twig. Gwen noticed Peter's unease, and she laughed, putting a hand to his cheek. "I'll see you later," she said. "Don't worry, I won't let the door man hurt you," she teased. Peter smiled, and Gwen craned her neck to swiftly kiss Peter's lips. Then she turned to walk into the lobby, and then out of sight. Peter felt as light as a feather on his way home.


	2. She's In Trouble

Gwen looked over at her clock. It was nearly four o'clock, and she was starving. She got up from her computer, leaving the science essay she'd been using to occupy her time with, and decided to go find out what was for dinner. Her mother was in the kitchen, and rooting around in the fridge. She looked up when she heard Gwen come in, and Gwen could see from her expression that she should have stayed in her room.

"Oh, Gwen! I was just about to call you, we're out of milk, could you run down to the store and get some?" Gwen sighed.

"Ugh, fine, is there anything else you want?" Gwen waited because she knew her mother would add one more thing to the list.

"Um, some eggs," Gwen nodded, turned on her heal and grabbed her coat. She took her time leaving the apartment block, and walking down the street. She got her phone out of her bag and checked to see if Peter had tried to call. There were no missed called, but there was one message from him.

_Hey, currently sat on top of the Oscorp tower, impressed?_

Gwen grinned to herself, letting out a slight laugh as she walked on, replying to the message.

_Pfff, is that the best you got?_

She clicked send, and slipped her phone back into her bag. Her good mood refreshed, she walked a little faster to the store.

The store was almost empty, and she took her time looking down the aisles for the items requested by her mother. She found the eggs on the second aisle, and then she looked for the fridge section where the milk was usually kept. She eventually found it at the back of the store, then, picking up a chocolate bar for herself, made her way to the counter. There were already two men in front of her, and on her first glance she didn't think much of them, but then the dark hooded jumpers and the fact that they weren't holding groceries but an empty bag triggered something in the mind of the police chief's daughter. She stayed at the end of the aisle, leaving in a hurry would attract attention, but she slowly reached in her bag for her phone.

"What can I do for you?" said the man behind the counter. From his expression Gwen could see he was just as wary as she was. Then, one of the men brought out a gun from the waist line of his jeans, and put it on the counter, followed by the bag.

"Put the cash in the bag," said the man in a low, dangerous tone. Gwen's eyes widened, as did those of the man behind the counter. Gwen hid behind the shelves of canned food, and pressed the first speed dial on her phone. Meanwhile money was being shoved into the bag on the counter, and when the till was empty, one of the robbers looked at the other, and nodded to where Gwen was hiding. Holding the gun level with the Cashier's head, he then walked to the aisle, just as Peter finally answered his phone.

"Gwen? What is it?" he said.

"I'm in the store come quickly," she said, and then she heard the men draw closer to her hiding place. She looked around for something to use, then grabbed a bag of flour from the shelf.

"Gwen, what's going on?" Gwen was about to reply but the men rounded the corner of the isle, and then they ran at her. Suddenly, they both had guns and one was being lifted to her head. She threw the bag of flour and ran, only hearing the bag explode, followed by cursing, then gun shots. In surprise, Gwen dropped her phone and the milk and eggs.

"Gwen!" she heard Peter shout through the speaker. She ducked behind a row of juice cartons and other bottles drinks to shelter from the gunfire. When it stopped, she looked for her phone and saw it in the middle of the aisle. She waited until the man drew nearer, listening to his footsteps on the cheap floor and grabbed a kids base ball bat from one of the special offer boxes nearby. She held it ready to swing. The man got to the end of the aisle and Gwen swung the bat at his face, but he had been expecting it and caught her wrists. Gwen wasn't going to give in to that though, and she kicked him hard in the crotch. He doubled over and she dived for her phone, then high tailed it to the doors, but then she stopped when she saw a familiar figure stood before her in a skin tight red and blue suit. She ran to him and they wrapped their arms around each other, then Spider-man realised Gwen and looked past her, at the man sprawling in pain down the aisle.

"Are you alright?" he said. Gwen nodded, then looking over his shoulder she saw the other man webbed to a wall.

"I've been in worse situations," she said. She could sense Peter smiling under the mask. "You should go before the cops get here,"

"Yeah, yeah I just want to make sure you're alright first,"

"And I can safely say I am fine, I think I handled it quite well actually," Spider-man looked around at Gwen's handy work and nodded. Then he heard sirens coming down the street.

"I gotta run, I'll see you later," he said, running out the store and casting a web to a building and swinging off out of sight.

"Mom, honestly I'm fine," said Gwen, sat at the dining room table, her mother nursing some invisible wound on Gwen's head. She'd only been in the house five seconds and her mother was bombarding her with pain killers and coco.

"What if something had happened to you? What if Spider-man hadn't shown up?" her mother said worriedly.

"Just be thankful that nothing happened and Spider-man did show up," Gwen's mother put her hands either side of Gwen's face. She looked tired more than anything; Gwen's mother had been trying to hold it together for the kids since the death of Captain Stacy, and Gwen saw how drained she was. She put an arm around her mother's shoulders and led her to her bedroom.

"Mom you need some rest, try to get some sleep I'll be fine," said Gwen. Her mother didn't argue or resist; she knew she needed to sleep.

Gwen left and went back to her room, wondering if her mum would ever get over the loss of her dad, Gwen was handling it quite well, she thought; there were times when George would work long hours and they wouldn't see him for days at a time, and really it was just like that, except he wasn't coming back at all now…

She wiped a solitary tear from her cheek and collapsed on her bed, folding into the smallest shape possible, pushing her knees into her forehead. It had been a busy day, she was tired, but she didn't want to go to sleep, not until she'd heard from Peter. She rolled over and looked at her clock. 10:30pm, normally she'd be going to sleep by now, unless she had a biology paper to write that required her to work over time.

She sat up and pulled herself to her computer, grabbing a text book from earlier and flicking through the pages. The deadline for this particular paper wasn't until next week, but already she'd nearly finished it; she didn't exactly have anything better to do. She started typing, knowing that she needed to one, wear herself out so she could sleep, and two, take her mind of Peter, and the writing of this essay accomplished those very things.

She had only been working for about half an hour when she jumped at the sound of knocking at her window. Her initial thought was 'who the heck is at my window at this time of night?' then her brain kicked in and she knew there was only one person who could climb those twenty stories. Smiling, she got up and walked over to her window. Peter was there, still in his red and blue suit minus the mask, which he held in his hand. He had a big scrape down the right side of his face and his eye was swollen and red.

Once Gwen had opened the window, Peter smiled, testing Gwen's mood. She shook her head at him disbelievingly as he slid into her room, and resumed his usual place on the floor by the bed. Gwen reached for a cloth and walked into the bathroom next to her bedroom. As she ran the cloth under the cold water, she called softly to Peter.

"Rough night I take it?" she said. Peter smiled to himself.

"Actually it was kinda quiet for once, are you okay? From this afternoon I mean," Gwen walked back into the room and sat beside Peter, gentle dabbing his face with the cloth.

"I'm fine, my mom is still a bit hysterical about it though," she sighed.

"Ah, well unfortunately Spider-man can't save you from your family," he said.

"That is a shame," Gwen said sardonically. Peter laughed and Gwen giggled. Then Peter slid his hands up to hold her cheeks, and Gwen welcomed the feeling of their heads getting closer. She pressed her lips to his, feeling eager after his touch. She had missed him when he was staying away from her, and now they were making up for lost time. Gwen pushed her hands up his chest and behind his neck, losing her fingers in his thick hair. She pressed their bodies closer together, feeling his warmth and remembering the safety and the protection she felt whenever he held her. She felt Peter begin to kiss her jaw then trail his lips down her neck, his hands exploring her curves, his fingers tracing the contours of her body. Gwen felt that for once he was hers, and she was his, and then she stopped, she pulled away from him, Peter seemed disappointed.

"What about Aunt May? Will she still be waiting up for you?" said Gwen suddenly. Peter said nothing, he just looked at her, and she could see he didn't want to leave. "You should go, she'll be worried," Peter nodded, casting his eyes down to the floor. Gwen cupped his face in her hands, and smiled. "We always have tomorrow," she said. Peter smiled, nodding.

"You're right. Tomorrow I'll go home first, then I can sneak out later," said Peter.

"What will we do with a whole night at our disposal?" said Gwen teasingly.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Peter winked and stood up, kissing Gwen one last time before vanishing out the window. Gwen ran over and stuck her head out into the cold street just in time to see Peter vanish behind one of the many tall buildings in New York City.


	3. Just A Normal Guy

It was Friday morning and the school corridors where as packed as ever. Peter and Gwen stood on opposite sides of the hall, pretending to sort out their lockers but really they were casting glances at each other. Just then, Flash came over to Peter and ruffled his hair.

"Hey what's up Parker?" he said, smiling.

"Hey Flash," Peter replied, this time filling his backpack with text books.

"So what's with you and Stacy?" Flash said suddenly, motioning to Gwen whose face was going a little red.

"What do you mean?" said Peter.

"C'mon man I can see how she looks at you," Peter shrugged, Flash didn't seem to like taking no for an answer, but he knew that trying to get any personal information out of Peter was like trying to knock the Earth out of orbit. "Whatever man," said Flash, turning to walk off down the hall, only to be rejoined by the rest of the basket ball team. Gwen went over to Peter and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey," he said, grinning.

"Hi, can I talk to you for a second?" Gwen said, leaning against the lockers. Peter nodded. "Do you want to go public with this? Or are we secret?" Gwen said simply. Peter paused, putting the pieces together.

"Oh, well, the thing is…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.

"What?" Gwen encouraged him to continue.

"Spider-man has enemies," Peter said, quieter this time "if any of these enemies found out who I was, I don't want to risk them going after you… that doesn't mean… you know, that we can't hang out and stuff, I just think we should be… subtle." he said. He looked almost guilty. Gwen raised an eyebrow, actually surprised that he had a good reason. She didn't really know how to respond to such a good answer, so instead she just nodded. "I'm sorry Gwen I should have made that clearer," he said, apologetically bowing his head.

"It's okay, I get that, I better get to class," she said.

"Oh, one last thing, you've been invited over for dinner tomorrow," said Peter. "Five okay for you?"

"Sure," she turned away from him and went to her next lesson, and she didn't see Peter again until break time. He was leant up against a wall, fiddling with his camera. She put her books on one of the tables, and sat down on the bench facing him. She wrote in a notebook, occasionally playing with her pencil and waiting for him to notice her. When Gwen had been sat at the table for a good ten minutes and Peter had not looked up from his device, she looked around for something to get his attention. She didn't want to have to shout him, or walk across the school yard, so she decided to find something to throw at him. On the next bench, there was a small book, probably a pocket dictionary that had been discarded because no-one actually using them anymore. She leaned over to grab it, and then took aim. She knew that Peter would catch it if it threatened to hit him, which it probably wouldn't. Then Gwen threw the book, and before it hit the wall next to Peter he whipped out his hand and caught it without even taking his eyes off the camera. When he realised the object had been directed at him, he looked up and saw Gwen looking impatient. He walked over to her awkwardly, and sat down opposite her, setting his camera on the table and tossing the book over his shoulder where it landed in the bin.

"Nice of you to come over," said Gwen.

"…Where you… how long have you been sat there?" said Peter.

"I have been trying to get your attention for about ten minutes, those are some super awesome Spidey Senses I have to say," said Gwen, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"S-spidey senses? Where the hell did you get that from?" said Peter.

"I made that up…just now…from my brain," said Gwen with a nod. Peter suddenly hunched over and flexed his fingers and in the accent of an old English woman he said:

"My Spidey senses are…tingling!" Gwen laughed and hit his head with a notebook. Peter grinned boyishly "so was there something you wanted or did you miss me?"

"Hm? Oh, no. What were you doing with the camera?" she asked.

"The film keeps jamming, I was just trying to work out why," Peter said, picking up the camera again and opening the back of it. "It's never worked properly since I dropped it that day Flash punched me in the face…"

"Why don't you get a new one?" Gwen said.

"I don't have the money," said Peter, shrugging. "And besides, I've had this one too long, it's of… sentimental value," then Peter clicked something in the back of the camera, and he smiled. "There, that should do it," he lifted it to his eye, and focused it on Gwen she blushed and Peter clicked the shutter. "All fixed," he said, satisfied with his handy work. Then the bell went, and they stood up "Hey, I've got a free track next, so I know you probably have too, you wanna do something?" said Peter.

"I should really get this essay done, quit distracting me okay? I could have had this done last night if you hadn't been…" Gwen trailed off, pausing before the words 'on my mind'. Peter sighed, walking around the table to face her.

"Look, I told it to Aunt May and I'll tell it to you, you don't have to worry! In fact, I probably worry more about you worrying than you worry about me," Gwen bit her lip and sighed.

"Fine, I'll share my free track with you, but you have to let me do this paper," said Gwen sternly.

"Yes, whatever you wish, I will not distract you with my existence," said Peter with a phoney bow. Gwen shook her head but laughed all the same.

Half an hour later, they were both sat outside a café with mugs of coco, Gwen busying herself with her work and Peter occasionally leaning over to see what she was doing. Gwen rolled her eyes after he leaned over for the fifth time.

"Peter," she said. "You are distracting me,"

"Oh am I?" he rested his chin on the table and looked up at her. She tried to hide a smile. He cocked his head to one side and then lifted his head up and rested his chin on his knuckles. Gwen decided Peter was probably the most fidgety person she knew, apart from her little brothers.

"If you're bored you can go, I'm not holding you here against your will," Peter sat up then, looking at the paper.

"Gwen is that the paper we're not supposed to have done until next week?" he said.

"Yeah, but I want to get it done so I can have my weekend free of work, and besides, where did rushing ever get anyone?" Peter nodded, considering her point. "You haven't even started it yet have you?" Gwen said, leaning her cheek on her palm and smiling smugly.

"No, not really no, well… I have thought about it. I consider thinking about it part of doing it," Peter trailed off.

"As I thought, you're far too busy playing with criminals to actually remember your school work," Gwen stood up then and put her books in her bag. Peter suddenly stood up too, almost like it was more out of surprise than anything else.

"What… where are you going?" said Peter.

"I've finished my paper so…back to school?" said Gwen.

"Yeah," said Peter "sure," Gwen almost wanted him to argue with her, she would have rather spent her time with Peter, but she should go back to school.

"You're still going to… um… well tonight," Gwen said, hoping her body language would express her question better. Body language been nodding her head towards the direction of home and pointing from herself to Peter and to herself again. She clicked her tongue when Peter didn't reply; he just gave her a blank expression. "…are you being serious?" she said, drooping her shoulders, looking at him incredulously. Then Peter smiled suddenly and Gwen sighed, walking behind him and pushing him down the street towards school, Peter reluctantly allowed her to, laughing as he spun around and put an arm around her, leading her back to school.


	4. Let's Keep It A Secret

_Just wanted to say thanks for everyone who followed or favourited this FanFic, it means a lot! Hope you enjoy the next chapter ^.^_

Gwen sat cross legged on her bed, staring at two very different notebooks that were neatly aligned in front of her. One she had to use for school, and the other she wasn't really sure. They were both about A4 size, one was slightly smaller and leather bound and had a leather chord to tie it closed, it smelled nice too. The other was a normal ring bound notebook, but the front and back covers were black and covered in different coloured spiders.

Her mother had got the leather one today, Gwen had come home from school and her mum had it out on the counter. Her mum just said she saw it and wanted it, so she got it, but then realised she had no use for it, so Gwen got it. The other one she had seen on the way home from school in the stationary section of a store. She bought it mainly on a whim, but the symbols on the cover had a secret meaning for her that no-one else knew about. There was something about that that Gwen liked.

So she had taken the notebooks to her room and sat down with them on her bed, and she had been wondering what to use them for. She had finished the last of her homework, and even tidied her room (not that it needed much tidying anyway as Gwen was a rather neat person) and after dinner she sat around, subconsciously waiting for Peter's knock at her window but she was just focusing on finding something to do, which in this instance, was deciding the fate of those notebooks.

She picked up the leather one, flicked through the pages and then fiddled with the chord. Then she placed it back on the bed, and picked up the other notebook. For a while she just stared at the spiders, deciding that her favourite was the blue one in the top right corner. Sighing, she flicked through that book, enjoying the feel of fresh untouched pages. She thought about a diary, but then decided against the idea. She didn't want to risk writing everything down in a house with younger brothers and a prying mother. The pages were thicker than the other notebooks though, more like card. She considered this for a while.

She rubbed her eyes and decided to just save them until she had real need of them. Picking them up, she walked over to her bookcase and slotted the notebooks on the end. She scratched her head and went to the window. Gwen always left it open but sometimes her mother would come in and lock it. Gwen checked the latch, and, surprise surprise, she found it locked. She unlocked it, finding herself almost angry at the fact the window had been locked. She left it open for Peter. Every night she left it open, even after Peter had stopped coming to see her, she left it unlocked in the hope he would show up.

She turned around and grabbed her pyjamas; shorts and a tank top. She got changed and went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, more to pass the time than anything else. Was this really all her life was now? Waiting for him? She felt like she needed to do something other than waiting around doing nothing in particular, something to make her feel like she wasn't just 'Spider-man's girl friend'. It sounded strange to think of herself like that. 'Spider-man's girl friend'. It made her sound like an accessory.

She shook her head and collapsed on her bed. She already felt like she missed him. Then she heard knocking, and she immediately looked at the window. No-one was there. The knocking came again, then she realised it was at her bedroom door. She got up and opened it; her mother was stood there, holding a mug of coco.

"Here sweetie," she said, holding out the mug. Gwen took it and stared into the brown liquid. "I don't know what you've been doing for the past two nights, but you barely come out of your room anymore. The work you're getting must be outrageous," Gwen shrugged and her mother put a hand to Gwen's cheek and kissed her forehead. "Night,"

"Night mom," said Gwen. She closed her door and sat down at her desk, but as soon as she'd taken a sip of coco she heard another knock. She smiled widely and went over to the window. Peter was there; he wasn't dressed in his suit this time, instead he wore normal jeans, shirt and jacket, along with the backpack he wouldn't be seen dead without. Gwen opened to window for him, and saw that he had little to no bruises.

"Hey," said Peter as she opened the window.

"Hey," she smiled back. They locked eyes for a few moments, and then Peter slid into her room, and wrapped his arms around Gwen. She hugged him back, but Peter sensed something was on her mind. He pushed her away, and lifted her chin with his knuckle.

"What's wrong?" he whispered. When Gwen didn't reply, he held her closer and smiled, "I leave you alone for a few hours and this is what happens? Come on, tell me," Peter lead Gwen over to the bed and he sat down facing her, holding her hands. He pressed his forehead against hers, and sighed. "Please Gwen," he said softly.

"It's just… I don't know who I am anymore," Peter cocked his head to one side.

"What do you mean?" he said.

"I mean, I feel like I have no purpose, like I'm just the girl friend of some famous guy…" Peter put his hands either side of her face.

"Gwen you are the most amazing person I know, and I love you," a shiver ran down Gwen's spine. He had never told her that before.

"You do?" she said.

"With all my heart," said Peter "I promise,"

"You make too many promises Peter Parker," she said with a smile. He grinned back, leaning in to kiss her. Their lips met and Gwen shuffled closer to him, pushing him back on the bed. Their mouths locked together and Gwen climbed over him, her hands either side of his head. The ends of Peter's mouth turned up into a smile and he wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist, rolling her under him. He chuckled slightly, their eyes locking again. Then, Peter looked up suddenly. He jumped off the bed and hid behind the chair, holding a finger to his lips to Gwen. Gwen gave him a confused look then she heard footsteps outside her door. There was a knock then Gwen's mother put her head around the door. Gwen sat up instantly, combing her messed up hair out of her face with her fingers. She smiled, and her mother took that as an invitation to walk into the room. Gwen looked at the chair, she could see Peter's feet under it.

"It's cold in here Gwen. I keep telling you to stop leaving this window open," she walked to the window, which was right next to the chair, and locked it shut.

"Did you… uh, want something?" said Gwen.

"I just wanted to talk to you," she said. Gwen tried to hold back the look of horror at her mother's impeccable timing.

"I'm really tired mom, can it wait till tomorrow?" Gwen's mum came and sat on the bed next to her, stroking the bangs out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry you're tired but I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate you're being strong for your brothers, for me, but I want you to talk to me, rather than spend your nights in your room getting upset," Gwen was a little shocked that her mum still thought that her 'loneliness' was a result of her father passing, but Gwen didn't want to tell the truth about Peter coming to her room every night and that he was the reason she left her window open, and she certainly wasn't going to point out that said boy was hidden behind the chair at this very moment.

"Mom, I'm okay, really," her mum gave her a long look, as if she could see in Gwen's eyes that she was keeping something from her.

"So, there's nothing you want to tell me now, that's okay, just know that I'm here if you need to talk," her mum stood up "now I think you should get some sleep," Gwen nodded with a smile.

"Night mom," she said. Then Gwen's mum left, closing the door. Gwen fell back on her bed and let out a sigh. Peter looked back at the door from over the arm of the chair, and then in one swift movement he jumped over the chair and onto her bed, where he laid down next to her, staring at the ceiling.

They laid there in silence for a while, their hearts still racing from nearly being caught. Then Peter started laughing quietly. Gwen looked over at him, but then she started laughing too. In a few seconds they both had smiles spread across their faces and their cheeks where going red. After a few minutes, the laughter died down, and the two were left panting. Then Peter rolled onto his side and looked at Gwen. She did the same, and they just looked into each other's eyes.

"Will you stay?" said Gwen. "You said you'd go to Aunt May's first tonight so…"

"I did. Would you like me to stay?" said Peter. Gwen nodded. "Okay, I'll stay," Gwen smiled and sat up, pulling herself into the covers of her bed. Peter stood up, taking off his jacket and sneakers then his shirt and stuffing them in his back pack. He then slipped in the bed too, locking his body around Gwen's and putting his arm around her waist Gwen turned out the light, and fell to sleep, a smile on her lips.


	5. Sunrise

Gwen woke up to find her room was still dark. Next to her, she felt cold, and turned to see that Peter wasn't there. She sat up, and then saw him sat at the end of the bed. He sensed her looking at him, and he turned to look at her. Gwen turned on the light and squinted, then burying her face in her hands, feeling self-conscious. Peter crawled over the bed towards her, and took her hands away from her face, smiling. He still had no shirt on, Gwen blushed a bit.

"What time is it?" said Gwen

"Where you going to leave?" said Gwen. Peter shook his head, smiling.

"I was just about to wake you up, get dressed there's something I want to show you," he said. Gwen gave him a puzzled look, but did as he asked. She got dressed, Peter put on a shirt and his jacket, and opened the window, holding his backpack. Gwen came back, and paused when she saw Peter step onto the fire escape.

"Err… what are you doing?" said Gwen. Peter held out his hand, offering it to Gwen.

"Just trust me," he said. Gwen took his hand and climbed out onto the fire escape. "Would you do me a favour and hold this?" he said, pointing to his backpack. She nodded and shrugged it over her shoulders. She pulled her coat on tighter around her body and Peter guided her around to his back in the dark. "Grab on," he said, Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Then Peter began climbing up the wall. Gwen held onto him tighter, and buried her face in his back. Peter laughed.

"Don't worry, I've got you," he said.

"It's so dark, how can you see where you're going?" she said.

"I've got Spidey-senses, remember?" Peter said and she didn't need to see his face to know he was smiling.

They came onto the roof of the building containing Gwen's apartment, and Peter walked her to the end of the roof. Gwen held her breath as she looked down to see the street lamps illuminating the roads which were still busy with cars. Peter held her waist with one arm, and squeezed her, feeling her shiver under her clothes. "Do you trust me?" he whispered to her.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"Don't let go," he said, and before she even had time to nod he jumped off the roof, taking Gwen with him. Her breath caught in her throat as the adrenaline built up and rushed through her. Then Peter shot a web from the shooters on his wrist, and they swung down the street, Gwen suddenly recalled the feeling she got when she had done this for the first time, and she laughed at the feeling in her stomach when Peter let go for the briefest moment and they were falling, only to find themselves swinging skywards again. Peter laughed with her, it wasn't often he got to share this feeling with someone.

"Where are we going?" Gwen shouted over the noise of wind rushing past her ears.

"You'll see! Hang on," Peter let go of the web again, and aimed for a balcony. He landed softly, he hardly made any noise at and he gently lowered Gwen to the ground. She thought then how no human could possibly do something like that, but she didn't care; it was fun.

Gwen instinctively climbed onto his back again, and he scaled the wall. She was still smiling like an idiot when they reached the top, and Peter carried her over to the guard rail at the edge of the roof. He sat down, and Gwen seated herself next to him, shrugging off the backpack.

"Um… Peter, what are we doing here? It's freezing and dark… what time is it anyway?"

"Watch," Peter pointed to the direction Gwen guessed was East; they sky was slightly lighter, she could see now because the building they were on was just the right height. They were going to watch the sunrise. Gwen looked back at Peter, his eyes were firmly fixed on the horizon, his face looked peaceful, more so than it had in a long time.

"Peter…" Gwen started; she was still shivering a bit. Peter noticed and shuffled closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling instantly better.

"Do you really spend your nights in your room?" he said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" she said, closing her eyes.

"When your mom came in last night, she said you spend your nights in your room…" Peter trailed off.

"I don't really have anything else to do…" Gwen yawned.

"I'm sorry, I kinda feel like that's my fault,"

"What, why?" she said, rotating her head to look up at Peter. He was still looking forward.

"I'm your boyfriend, I should be talking you out every night so you can have fun, but I don't," Peter sighed.

"That's not your fault," she said "you have a responsibility to the city,"

"Yes, but I have a responsibility to you as well, and I haven't been keeping my end of it up very well," Gwen reached up a hand and ruffled his hair. He looked down at her and smiled at her briefly. "I will take better care of you, I promise,"

"Ugh you and your _promises_," Gwen laughed. Peter grinned, looking back at the horizon, which was getting lighter a lot faster now. The sky began to turn from blue to orange, banishing the shadows of the night away and replacing them with a soft orange. Gwen sat up and gasped a little; she'd never actually seen a sunrise before, and it was beautiful. Peter looked at Gwen, and there was something about the way the light fell across her face that made her look, well… amazing. He went into his bag and got out his camera. Gwen smiled, biting her lip as Peter focused on her face, and clicked the shutter.

"You're always taking pictures of other people, why don't we ever get to see you?" said Gwen, looking back to the horizon. Peter lowered the camera, shrugging.

"I don't know. I guess I've always been the one behind the lens, not in front of it," Gwen held out her hand, motioning for him to give her the camera. He hesitated, and then passed it to her. She then put it to her eye, aiming it at Peter and clicked the shutter, winding on the film as she'd seen Peter do, then she took another, and another, Peter laughed and then held out his hand for the camera. "Okay, give it back," Gwen shook her head, laughing. She stood up and stepped back, still taking pictures. Peter stood up too, crossing the roof to Gwen, still smiling and went to take the camera. Gwen held the arm with the camera out behind her, and she pushed Peter back to stop him reaching it. "You know I could take it," he said, standing just in front of Gwen, looking down at her. Gwen accidentally clicked the shutter; Peter used the distraction to lean over and plucked the camera from her hand. Gwen looked slightly disappointed, but the feeling quickly melted away.

Peter checked the camera, then swung the strap over his shoulder, and then realised how close he was to Gwen. She smiled up at him, and he down at her, and then he kissed her.

"Thank you for this," said Gwen, breaking away from him. Peter shrugged with a boyish grin. "I guess you really are a romantic at heart aren't you," Gwen cooed teasingly.

"You know I don't have to take you up here again," Peter threatened playfully. Gwen laughed and they pressed their foreheads together, enjoying their closeness. "When will your mum wake up?" said Peter.

"It's the weekend, we have a few more hours, when will Aunt May be up?"

"Earlier than your mom," Peter grinned "she's a morning person," Gwen rested her hands on his chest, and Peter put his arms around her waist and rocked her slightly from left to right.

"Will you have to go soon?" said Gwen sadly.

"Yeah, but hey, I'll see you later anyway, Aunt May is expecting you for dinner,"

"And what will I do in the mean time?"

"Hmm," Peter looked out to the sky again, it was getting brighter, and they couldn't stay here much longer. "Well, I have to see if there are any jobs Aunt May needs doing before you get there and I need to go do… well, other stuff," there was a pause, it seemed to last ages as Gwen slipped her arms around Peter's neck and they both stared into the distance. It was so surreal, Gwen almost panicked at the thought of this being a dream, though it really wouldn't have surprised her. However, like all dreams, real or not, they had to end sometime. She could feel Peter pull away from her slowly, and her hands untangled from behind his head.

"I should get you back before someone notices you're gone," he said more to himself than to Gwen. She couldn't hide the disappointment on her face. "Don't worry, I'll see you later. You won't have to sit around in your room doing nothing for hours on end," Peter teased.

"What, you really think I'm so helpless without you? I'll have you know I can take care of myself," said Gwen. Peter walked her to the edge of the roof, and held her by her waist.

"I know," he smiled, and Gwen smiled as they jumped off the edge, welcoming the swinging sensation of flight.


	6. It's My Life

_**Sorry I haven't updated this in AGES! I was on holiday you see then I found it hard to get back into the swing of things, this hasn't been properly checked so I apologize for any mistakes :S**_

When Gwen got home that morning, she said good-bye to Peter who reluctantly left through the window, silent as ever, and she then crawled back into bed and fell asleep again. When she finally woke up, the events for that morning had seemed so far away, and she began to question whether it really happened or if it was just another dream.

Her mother came in with a smile on her face and drew back Gwen's curtains. Gwen groaned and rolled over, then tried to hide the fact that she was fully dressed. She'd over slept; sneaking out early in the morning obviously had its price. Her mother seemed to stay oblivious to this fact, and instead went about putting clean clothes in draws and neatening up bookshelves. Gwen registered her mother's jovial mood, and looked over at her.

"What is it?" said Gwen, not wanting her mum to have to contain herself longer than necessary.

"I've got you, a job!" said Mrs. Stacy, the smile widening.

"You did what?!" Gwen exclaimed, sitting up.

"It's nothing as fancy as an internship at Oscorp, but a woman I know owns a store a few blocks down and she needs someone to look after things because she's going away for a while, so I said you'd do it," Gwen didn't quite know how to respond to that, she knew how hard it was to get a job at her age, and she needed the money, but she didn't like the fact that she'd had no idea about any of this, and she hadn't really had a choice in the matter.

"When did this happen?" she said.

"I went out this morning while you had a lie in," Gwen looked over at her clock; it was half past eleven. "Anyway I said you'd go over there after school on Monday and start at the beginning of the week," Gwen nodded.

"Um, thanks mom,"

"You're welcome sweetie," then Gwen's mother left the room, leaving Gwen to digest this new occurrence in her life. Well, at least it'd be something to keep her mind off of things. Gwen let herself fall back onto the bed and she pulled the covers over her head. Then she noticed something; the quilt still smelt of him, and she buried her face in the pillow he'd slept on, and wrapped the duvet around her as if it were her favourite dressing gown.

Gwen sat up again suddenly; she had fallen asleep. Again. She groaned and threw the covers off her, and got up. She checked the time again; 12:14 pm. Not that bad, she thought. Her sleeping patterns had been a bit hit-and-miss these past few nights; she blamed Peter for all of this.

She picked up a brush and ran it through her hair turning on her computer. It opened onto pages of articles on Biochemistry Gwen had being using for an essay. She opened a new tab, and went onto her e-mails. She had a bunch of spam from random websites and a few notifications, nothing from a human being anyway. She rolled her eyes and picked up her phone. She had a text from Flash; apparently he wouldn't be able to make it after school on Monday because of a basket ball tournament. Gwen had grown to like Flash; she admired his new-found will to learn. He had been told that if he didn't keep his grades up he wouldn't be given a scholarship, and Gwen knew exactly how that felt.

She replied to the text saying he could come over Tuesday and shoved her phone in her bag. She had just less than five hours before Peter would come to take her for dinner, and she didn't really know what to do with herself until then. She supposed she could see if her mum wanted any help around the house, and after last time she highly doubted she'd be asked to go buy stuff from the store, so she left her room and found her mum in the dining room, cleaning.

"Hey mom, need any help with anything?" Gwen's mum looked up at her and smiled pleasantly.

"Your brothers got paint on the table, would you mind wiping it up? I'd get them to do it but, well you know what boys are like," Gwen nodded, rolling her eyes a little. Gwen picked up a damp cloth and sprayed some surface cleaner onto the table.

"Actually, Gwen there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Gwen looked back over at her mother who was now dusting the top of the cabinet.

"What is it?"

"Well it's about your friend, Peter," Gwen's mother saw Gwen's expression and she could tell she'd better choose her words carefully.

"Don't worry it's not bad, but I just couldn't help but notice, the night he came over he seemed a little, well, like he'd been in a fight,"

"Look, mom," Gwen started.

"Oh no I'm sure he's a lovely kid, it's just now we're going to have to work a little harder for things, and I don't want to see you get to involved with him while we're trying to… well, put ourselves back together. Right now I need you to keep your grades up and work hard, and keep out of trouble," Gwen wiped the paint off the table as her mother spoke, she was listening, but she was thinking too; about what things would be like for her if she didn't have Peter. She didn't want to ever be without him, but she understood her mother's concern. Her mother thought Peter as more of a distraction, and Gwen supposed she agreed, after all, he was very distracting.

"Yeah, I know mom, but I can still go over to Peter's for dinner tonight right?"

"Yes of course honey just make sure you don't stay there too long, I want you back before your brothers go to bed," Gwen nodded.

Gwen helped her mother around the house for the rest of the afternoon, and when she finally looked up at the time she had five minutes to get herself down stares (she didn't want Peter to have to use the fire escape so she decided it would be better for her to meet him outside) and when she finally got there Peter was waiting for Gwen when she came out of the apartment block. He smiled when he saw her and she jogged up to him and embraced him, and then he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"You miss me?" he said playfully.

"Only a little," Gwen replied with the same attitude. "Though I have had other things on my mind today,"

"Oh?" said Peter, wrapping an arm around Gwen's waist and walking on.

"Yeah, my mom got me a job," Gwen said, raising her eyebrows and acting like a surprised child, emphasising every word.

"A job? Where?" said Peter, hugging her closer to him.

"The store a few blocks down the street, it's nothing as fancy as an internship at Oscorp, but it's just something to get some money together for college. No-one wants to hear a recommendation from Curtis Connors now," said Gwen sadly.

"That shouldn't make any difference; I know you could get into any college you want. You don't need any recommendations,"

"You really think so?" she said with genuine uncertainty.

"I don't think, I know," Peter smiled at her, his confidence making her more certain. She loved that about him. She squeezed his arm and he smiled.

The sky was beginning to darken, and the air became slightly cooler. Gwen shivered a little and then she felt a drop of rain on the tip of her nose. The drops fell faster and harder, Gwen held her coat up over her head and Peter jogged her to shelter and they looked out through the rain. Gwen's coat hadn't really helped her stay dry and Peter hadn't even attempted to cover himself so water ran down his face, though, miraculously, his hair had remained unaffected. Gwen inspected her own blonde locks and found that they were beginning to curl. She attempted to straighten them out with her fingers but it wasn't helping.

Peter's fingers threaded through Gwen's and he pulled her hand away from her hair.

"What are you doing?" he said.

"My hair is a mess…" she started, and then she took her eyes away from his and put a hand to her head.

"Nonsense, you look beautiful,"

"Ugh, no I must look terrible,"

"Okay, you're going to have to explain this to me, why is it whenever us guys pay you girls a compliment you disagree, then whenever we call you ugly you fly at us like wild animals?" Gwen laughed.

"Are you saying you were just about to call me ugly?" she said with a dark smile.

"What? No I just… c'mon you know I wouldn't!"

"So the amazing Spider-man is afraid of his own girlfriend? Wow good look saving the world bug boy," Peter shook his head with a smile. "Seriously though, what's your Aunt May going to think of me?"

"She'll think you're beautiful, just like I do. Anyway, a little rain never hurt anyone, and I just thought of something I've always wanted to try…" Gwen cocked her head to one side and gave him a puzzled look, and then he took one of her hands and led her out into the rain. He looked at her and she looked back at him, she felt their wet faces get closer until their lips connected. Gwen liked the feel of the rain then, in fact, she loved it.


	7. Her Solace

Sorry this has taken so long! I really really am sorry! I've just started college and the work load is insane. On top of that I've had multiple distractions encluding my own story and some cosplay I am starting to make soon. Yeah I haven't really had much time to write, but now I've got my time sorted out I think I'll be able to make more regular updates to this. Thank you for being patient with me! I know it's not easy .

* * *

They both turned up at Peter's house utterly drenched. Aunt May greeted them both with towels and Peter got a slap on the back of the head for letting himself and Gwen get soaked. Aunt May seated them both next to the heater and went back into the kitchen to get started on dinner. Aunt May hadn't made meat loaf since Ben Parker died, and as a result she was experimenting with new recipes, so tonight it was chicken and salad.

"Peter," she called from the other room. "I hope you remembered to hang up your coat I don't want it dripping all over my carpets," Peter looked over to the chair he'd draped his wet coat over.

"Yeah," he said, getting up, grabbing the coat and throwing it onto the hat stand in one swift movement. Gwen giggled to herself. Peter rejoined her at the heater. "What?" he asked, smiling.

"Nothing, so, this is what it's like inside the Parker residence," she said looking around at the childhood pictures on the cabinets and tables. Peter followed her gaze and let out an embarrassed laugh.

"Yeah… well, things have changed a bit recently," said Peter. Gwen's smile faded a little, then she changed the subject.

"So where's your room?" she said.

"Upstairs," he paused, taking in Gwen's expression. "Oh come on then," Gwen smiled as Peter lead her up the stairs and opened the door into his room. Peter shot a glance over at his computer, then remembered he'd changed his background from the debate team a few weeks ago. Gwen looked around at the posters and the random bits of circuit board and books dotted around the room, then she looked back at the custom made lock on his door.

"Are you really that paranoid or are you just worried your Aunt will catch you doing something you don't want her to see?" she said pointing at the lock with her thumb. Peter shrugged awkwardly. She smiled went over to his bed and sat on it, staring at the cork board above his computer. She stood up again and went over to it, there were pictures of his family; his parents, Aunt May, Uncle Ben, then she saw a picture of herself and Peter. Peter noticed her looking and got an envelope from his desk.

"I got those photos from this morning developed," he said handing it to her.

"All of them? I'm sorry I kinda wasted your film,"

"You didn't, trust me," Gwen raised an eyebrow and took out the stack of pictures. First she saw the ones Peter had taken. She didn't really like pictures of her, but she had to admit Peter's pictures were a lot better than the others she'd seen. Then after a few more, there were pictures of Peter. This must have been when she'd stolen the camera. There were a few that were blurred, then she stopped on one of them.

There were two silhouetted figures, their profiles were so close, and their lips slightly parted. Gwen thought back to when she'd held the camera behind her so Peter couldn't reach it, and she'd clicked the shutter by accident.

"I think they came out rather well," said Peter putting his hands on her cheeks. Gwen nodded.

"Yeah," she said quietly, then she put the photos on the desk, and her arms wrapped around Peter's neck, pulling his closer. For a while they just pressed their foreheads together, swaying slightly. Peter looked at her with that expression that made her feel like he was seeing right through her, and then she was craning her neck up to him, their lips were so close, then there was a knock at the door. They looked up, startled, to see Aunt May standing in the door way. Peter regretted leaving the door open.

"Dinner's ready you two," she said with a smile, and then she turned and walked back down the stairs. Peter smiled as he clicked his tongue and Gwen pulled an awkward expression.

It was nice having dinner with just Peter and his Aunt; thought Gwen. No little brothers to worry about and no mother asking questions about her day. Aunt May really was a lovely woman, and she was envious of Peter for having such an uncomplicated relationship with his aunt, not to mention the fact that Aunt May's cooking was quite frankly amazing.

"So you two been going out long?" Peter cleared his throat and Gwen blushed. "What? We're running out of things to talk about and I refuse to let Peter keep this one from me," Peter sighed through his nose.

"Well, that depends on how you define long," Gwen said gingerly looking over at Peter.

"I'll take that as a no then, and I hope he's looking after you," said Aunt May, looking accusingly at Peter, who tried to avoid making eye contact with his aunt. Gwen just smiled, casting a knowing glance his way. Aunt May seemed to sense that the two teens wanted to change the subject. "So Gwen, are you still on that debate team? I remember Peter saying something about that,"

"Oh, no, it takes up too much time after school; I figured I'd try get a job, you know, earn some money," Gwen said, gingerly pushing her food around her plate, her appetite lessened a little.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that, but surely if you love doing something you should keep at it! Though it's nice your helping your mother out like that," Aunt May grinned sympathetically at Gwen.

"Yeah, I'm considering starting tutoring lessons actually, but I don't really know anyone who'd be interested," Gwen sighed.

"Well it's funny you should say that Gwen, there's a woman who lives just down the street who has two little girls and she was talking to me just the other day about how she wants to get them private lessons, I could talk to her if you want?"

"Would you? Only, it's not like I'm actually qualified to teach,"

"Gwen you don't need to be, you're defiantly smart enough. A person only needs to see your grades to know that," said Peter, his eyes glowing with happiness for Gwen. Gwen blushed slightly and Aunt May smiled, more for the fact that her nephew had found a real girl to fight for, and she deeply hoped he'd keep her, for as long as possible.

By the end of dinner, Aunt May had surely told Gwen every embarrassing story about Peter she could think of, Peter, who was thoroughly unimpressed by this, sat on the sofa in the living room and Gwen sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Normally she wouldn't have been so casual with him around someone else, but Aunt May was the kind of person she didn't want to hide anything from, She thought that must have make it extremely hard for Peter to keep his secret from her.

The TV was on but they weren't watching anything, well, there was some sort of Chinese cooking channel on, but neither of them was paying much attention to it. Gwen glanced up at the clock; it was almost eight.

"I should probably get going soon; my mum wants me back before my brothers go to bed,"

"They go to bed so soon? Can't your brothers learn to be nocturnal? That would be fun," Peter smiled. Gwen sighed playfully.

"If only. Will you be… out tonight?" she said more quietly.

"Probably; I can't sleep if I hear sirens anyway. Have you ever tried to go to sleep with a siren playing right outside you window? It's never going to happen, unless you're drugged maybe…" Gwen raised an eyebrow

"Can… can you even be drugged?"

"Well… I can be electrocuted?" Gwen paused.

"I… I don't even want to know how you know that," she said. She snuggled deeper into the sofa and closer to Peter. She let out a tired sigh, and then she shut her eyes. She felt completely relaxed at his side; he was warm and safe, and Gwen could be a normal seventeen year old. There were no younger siblings to look after, no mother to run errands for, no school to think about, it was just her and him, and that's how she wanted to stay for as long as she could.

Peter rested his cheek on the top of her head and wrapped a hand around her shoulder. Aunt May stood watching them in the doorway behind the sofa, wiping a plate clean. She tilted her head to one side and smiled at the two teens, who were still 'watching' the Chinese Cooking channel. She paused there for a moment, just absorbing their happiness for a little while longer, leaving them for as long as she could, but then she spoke.

"What time does your mother want you home Gwen?" Gwen and Peter both sat up and turned around. Gwen glanced at the clock again, and her face fell.

"I should start heading back now," she stood up, Peter's hand ran from her shoulder down her arm to her hand, where their fingers entwined. "Thank you for dinner, it was lovely,"

"Oh don't mention it dear, you're welcome to come again whenever you like, it get's kinda lonely with just Peter and me, we welcome the extra company," Gwen smiled and Aunt May then looked back at Peter; he was reluctant, but eventually he let Gwen pull him off the sofa and they went into the hallway. Aunt May went back into the kitchen, knowing full well what was going to happen next.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" said Peter.

"No, that's alright. You could always meat me there though," Peter raised an eyebrow and smiled, hugging an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

"I accept that invitation," he said. She craned her neck and her face followed his, pressing their foreheads together.

"I'll see you later then," she said quietly, and then she leaned up more and pressed her lips to his. Gwen backed towards the front door; he followed, still hugging her close to him, not wanting to let her go. Eventually, they broke away and Peter opened the front door. Gwen stepped out, took one last look at him, and then turned to leave. Peter was still staring after her as she walked down the street, and then she looked back just as she reached the corner, then she was out of sight.

He shut the door, and leant against the wall, missing her slightly already. He forced himself upright and then he walked back into the kitchen. He didn't say anything as his aunt continued to do the washing up. Aunt May glanced up at him, then chuckled to herself.

"What?" he said, jumping up to sit on the work top. Aunt May shook her head with a smile.

"You," she said, "who knew you could be such a romantic, you surprise me Peter," Peter pulled an annoyed expression.

"Are you making fun of me now?" he said.

"Oh no, I'm just so happy to see you like this, and Gwen is such a nice girl, really, she's a keeper," Aunt May nodded to herself as she carried some plates to the cupboard. "You make sure you keep her young man, you hear me?" Peter was surprised at Aunt May's sudden outburst of seriousness; he just sat there, staring at her. It was almost like she knew something he didn't… "Now get yourself to bed," Peter's expression faded instantly. He groaned a little as he slipped off the work top and headed to the stares, but before he went he turned back to his Aunt.

"Hey, Aunt May?" he said.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"Thank you,"


End file.
